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Grillo’s Pickles sues Wahlburgers, says company is ‘duping’ customers
The local pickle company claims that pickles sold by Wahlburgers contain preservatives despite being labeled as "all natural."
Grillo’s Pickles is picking a fight with Wahlburgers.
The pickle company, which began on the streets of Boston in 2008 and is now distributed nationwide, filed a lawsuit against the popular burger company started by Mark Wahlberg and his family. The dispute centers on packaged pickles sold by Wahlburgers in grocery stores, according to a press release from Grillo’s.
Wahlburgers markets its pickles as “all natural” foods that contain no preservatives. Grillo’s is arguing in a lawsuit filed this week that the Wahlburgers pickles do contain artificial preservatives, and this is not reflected on their packaging.
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Therefore, the company argues, customers and retailers are being misled.
“In positioning its products as ‘fresh’ and containing ‘no preservatives,’ our competitor is effectively duping consumers and retailers, especially those who are actively seeking all-natural food products with clean labels,” Grillo’s President Adam Kaufman said in a statement. “Like our customers, we understand and value the importance of ingredient transparency.”
Grillo’s claims that Wahlburgers pickles do contain an artificial chemical preservative, and that recent lab tests back up their lawsuit. The tests of Wahlburgers pickles conducted by Grillo’s apparently revealed “considerable amounts of benzoic acid,” the company said. Benzoic acid is commonly added to foods through sodium benzoate, an artificial chemical preservative that lengthens shelf life, according to Grillo’s.
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This ingredient is not included on the Wahlburgers labels, Grillo’s said, and the amount of benzoic acid found “far exceeds a trace amount.”
Neither Wahlburgers nor the New Jersey-based pickle manufacturer, Patriot Pickle, commented about the lawsuit, the Boston Business Journal reported.
Grillo’s argued in the lawsuit that a New Jersey judge should approve damages and make an injunction ruling. This, the company said, is justified due to the misleading labeling of Wahlburgers pickles combined with “similar packaging and near identical taste to Grillo’s.” Wahlburgers has harmed Grillo’s by diverting customers and grocery buyers away from Grillo’s and to Wahlburgers, the company said.
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